Date: Sat, 15 Nov 1997 18:41:42 -0500
From: Grant Barrett
Subject: RE>Re: Is "quit, quit now" a catchphrase?
I think Bevery's on the right track. I bet it comes from a movie, although it is a common structure.
I have small collection of English throwaway phrases from non-English speaking countries and
the biggest sources are movies and music, in that order.
There's a scene in Die Hard where a public utility worker is told by the FBI to shut off a certain
part of the power grid. The worker says to someone on the other end of the phone, "Shut it
down. Shut it down now!"
In Independence Day, that derivative masterpiece and the answer to every action fan who has ever
said "Why didn't they...?", there is a scene where Bill Pulliam says something like, "Nuke 'em.
Nuke 'em all."
-- Footnote, tangent, what-have-you: A good Patton-like speeche is ruined in the movie
Independence Day and it seems like I'm always flipping past HBO when the scene is showing.
A hodge-podge (or hotch-potch, depending which side of the road you drive on) of volunteer
pilots is preparing to take flight and attack the invading aliens in the Nevada desert. Bill Pulliam,
as President Whitmore, gives the off-to-battle speech:
Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world,
and you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind"... that
word should have a new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty
differences anymore. We will be united in our common interest. Perhaps it's fate that today is the
Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny,
oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist. And
should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as
the day when the world declared in one voice, "We will not go quietly into the night,we will not
vanish without a fight... We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today, we celebrate our
Independence Day!"
You know what urks me? It's that very last word. It sounds repetitive, redundant, incongruous,
superfluous, etc. If you get a chance, look for the scene. It's a little more than three-quarters of
the way through the movie.
Grant Barrett
gbarrett[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]dfjp.com